Événement

2nd SF Festival of Russian Choral Music: Russian Roots

Festival overview: Announced by the Slavyanka Russian Chorus, the 2nd San Francisco Festival of Russian Choral Music will take place on October 15, 20 and 22 in San Francisco and Berkeley. Shining a light on the lesser-known choral masterworks of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the festival will include two West Coast premieres by Sergei Taneyev -- his monumental, full orchestra-backed choral cantata, Ioann Damaskin, and his choral work, Sunrise. Acclaimed Russian countertenor Andrej Nemzer will perform a selection of works for voice and piano by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, and Glinka, accompanied by Slavyanka Russian Chorus soloist sopranos Litz Plummer and Elena Stepanova-Gurevich and pianist Donna Stoering. Seven ensembles -- including various West Coast Slavic choral groups and Russian church choirs from San Francisco, Burlingame and Santa Cruz -- will share the stage with the Slavyanka Russian Chorus in presenting a vast selection of Russian folk songs and sacred music from Russia's Silver Age.

Concert overview: The festival begins on Sunday, October 15 at 4pm at St. Mark's Church, Berkeley with "Russian Roots" -- a selection of Russian secular music that focuses on the folk traditions of the Moscow region. Four vocal ensembles will participate, including Oakland's renowned female vocal ensemble, Kitka; Kostroma, of the non-profit organization Russian House Kedry (Cedars) in San Jose; the Serbian-language Iskra Etno Vocal Group, of Silicon Valley; and Pava, the Seattle-based vocal group that sings ancient Russian folk songs.

For other Festival concerts, please look for our "Reaching Toward Heaven" and "Russia's Bach" concert events, on October 20 and 22, respectively.

Tickets are sold in advance via Brown Paper Tickets until 2pm on Sunday, October 15. Thereafter, they will be available for purchase at the door. Children 11 years old and under are admitted for free, but please order a child's ticket as necessary for capacity count purposes.